Beacon of Love
by Queen Sydon
Summary: A collection of various tales focused on the more unorthodox pairings the RWBY universe could have. I'm open to suggestions and requests! First up, a rare moment of isolation causes Jaune Arc to see another side of the hyperactive girl in his team; none other than Nora Valkyrie. Much fluffiness will abound.


_Hey, all! Felt like writing some warm, fuzzy stuff. I'm hoping to make this a collection of short stories focused on the more unorthodox pairings in the RWBY universe. I'm very open to whatever suggestions of crack-tastic pairings you guys would like to see. I've already got some weird couples thought out that I haven't read before. Anyway, enjoy!_

Beacon of Love

Two parts of a whole was a fitting term for Nora and Ren. From the first moment he'd seen the two they'd never left each other's sides. Their personalities seemed to play off one another quite well too. Nora was the perfect over-excitable bundle of crazed energy, which was the natural antithesis to Ren's cool, taciturn and patient state of being.

Jaune assumed the two had a "thing". After all, two young people spending every waking moment together tended to give that kind of impression. But he still had some lingering doubts whether they were really together as an item.

Jaune was reasonably tactless when it came to talking to people, but even he knew that asking them outright if they were dating or not would be a little rude. He wasn't the kind to prod into those sorts of things anyway.

But one lazy afternoon during the weekend break, Jaune found his chance to find out the truth about them. The rest of his team had all departed elsewhere; Pyrrha had asked him to visit a local weapon store, which Jaune had to unfortunately turn down owing to the ever-increasing backlog of assignments and essay's he'd been putting off for several weeks. Ren had gone to see members of his family who were visiting Vale for a short time to witness the big tournament, and in a bizarre twist, had actually left Nora behind for the first time ever.

Which left Jaune in the awkward position he was in then; hastily scrambling to finish one of several written assignments on Grimm Hegemony, whilst Nora Valkyrie hung around the dorm on her lonesome. The absence of Ren didn't seem to bother her too much. She was still buzzing with happiness and unabated joy; bouncing off the walls and never once taking a breather or standing still for that matter.

It was strange, being alone with her. Her hyperactivity didn't bother him anywhere near as much as he thought, especially considering all the work he had to catch up on. Even in their relatively normal dormitory Nora would always find something to keep her occupied. She'd disassemble her weapon over and over again and make some bizarre appliances out of the parts, build an impressive fort using all the spare furniture, and even put on a display of impressive shadow-boxing and various hand-to-hand techniques on a large plush Ursae that Nora had knitted herself.

Jaune couldn't help but feel strangely at ease at Nora's crazy antics. It was almost like her boundless energy was rubbing off on him, making his current tasks seem like a minor hurdle that he'd eventually overcome if he stayed positive.

However sleeping through one lesson too many had taken its toll on his reservoir of knowledge. A particular problem asking him to write out the preferred habitats and attack patterns of a Nevermore Grimm had him totally stumped.

Without meaning to Jaune let out an annoyed grunt as he slumped exasperated at the study desk. Before he even blinked Nora's upside-down face appeared above his vision; her cheeky grin as wide as ever.

'Hey Jaune! I'm not being too noisy am I?'

The question was innocent and sincere enough to which Jaune replied with a relaxed chuckle.

'Nah, it's ok, Nora. Honestly, your being here is kinda…relaxing.'

'Oooh!' She chirped happily as she pulled back and plopped down to sit on her bed, prompting Jaune to swivel his chair to face her. 'You sound just like Ren! Heehee!'

Jaune didn't doubt that. In that moment he partially understood Ren's ability to be around her antics nonstop. Nora's exuberance was…uplifting. Not annoying.

'Need any help there, oh fearless leader?' Nora asked him, playfully kicking her legs from the edge of her bed as she bobbed her head side-to-side.

Jaune did need help. Badly. So he confided in her for the time being.

'Yeah, there's just this one part here about that Nevermore Grimm…' He'd barely started speaking when Nora zipped to his side in under a second and peeked curiously at his work as she leant in close over Jaune's shoulder, instantly causing an uncomfortable but strangely pleasant twist in the blonde boys chest. The girl also had a dizzying scent of lilac flowers that tickled his nose.

'Okay see here? That big flying birdy prefers high and wide open spaces where the mist is thick enough to hide its body when flying low towards the ground…'

'O-okay…' Jaune stammered as he picked up his pen and began to scrawl away the information Nora was feeding him. He was a little surprised how quickly she was able to relay that information even though he was pretty sure the lecture that had covered it had been over two weeks ago.

'…and when it attacks, it swoops in from high above and prefers to use its beak. Like "WHOOSH"!'

Nora whipped her hand past Jaune's face for added emphasis, now even closer to him than before. Jaune could barely scribble away in coherent sentences by that point.

'…Uh, um. Thanks, Nora…' Jaune thanked her weakly to which the girl just smiled brightly. Before he knew it, he was just staring back at that smile; transfixed by its sincerity and cheerful emotion. Jaune realized too late what he was doing and tore his gaze from her too quickly. Already he could feel a warm, tingling flush in his cheeks. He tried to get stuck back into his work but his brain simply wouldn't process any of the symbols on the pages as readable.

Jaune was surprised how abruptly that emotion was taking place within him. With Nora of all people. It's not that he didn't think she was cute and fun to be with but…for whatever reason, when he was alone with her all these new unexpected feelings welled up inside him.

And right then those feelings were making it impossible to focus on his work, so he swiveled in his chair again to face her and intensely hoped his voice wouldn't stutter like it did every time he felt so nervous.

Nora was still on the bed watching him with an uncharacteristically quiet air. She was leaning back on her shoulders, still absently flicking her legs as she tilted her head a little when Jaune locked eyes with her again.

'Nora…can I ask you a personal question?'

'Uh huh.' She replied with another cheery grin.

'Okay. Umm, don't get mad but…are you and Ren currently…like right now…dating or something…?'

Jaune's tone got shakier and shakier as he muttered that question. Just what in the hell was he doing, asking her something like that out of the blue? For a moment he thought about sprinting out of the room and locking himself in one of the toilets for a few days, just to escape the embarrassment he was feeling then.

Before he could do anything of the sort, Nora interrupted his frantic thoughts with her quick reply.

'Nnnope!'

Jaune couldn't hide the surprise in his voice at the unexpectedly curt answer.

'What?! R-really?'

'We kinda thought about it for a little while…' Nora reminisced as she glanced at the ceiling, scrunching her nose a little, a motion that Jaune found utterly adorable. '…but after a while we accepted that we really didn't see each other that way. I'm more like his big sister!'

Jaune felt a wave of relief wash over him, but he was quickly put on the spot again when Nora followed up her answer; her features actually softening as her smile fluttered to a slight pensive grin.

'…Why do you ask?' She tested quietly, now studying Jaune with her unblinking aqua teal eyes. He'd never seen her look so serious about something.

Jaune was still scrambling for some kind of answer, knowing that every second he awkwardly paused like that was just giving his emotions away for all to see.

He felt backed into a corner with no escape, and in a strange turn found a moment of clarity in that madness.

'I…like having you around, Nora. The two of us like this…' Jaune didn't really know what was enabling him to talk like that. It felt, again, like some part of Nora's carefree fearlessness was reinforcing his own will. 'It's nice. It feels like I've known you for a lot longer than I actually have.'

Nora was silent again as she stared at him in mild disbelief. When she spoke again, she did so with a much softer demeanor; as if she was weighing each of her words carefully. And maybe Jaune was imagining it, but he could swear he saw a very light flush of red in Nora's porcelain-white cheeks.

'Yeah. This is nice…' She stood up and slowly slinked towards him with easy steps. Nora was wearing a different smile than before. It looked like a private smile, sweet and exclusive; saved for those rare moments in time like the one Jaune was living through then.

His body moved on its own as he stood up to face her, his heart racing uncontrollably.

'Nora, I…'

'Yes?' She beamed expectantly as her smile somehow grew even wider.

Jaune knew what he had to say then. It was the only thing he _could_ say. But it was perfect.

'I'm feeling lightheaded.'

Jaune realized too late he'd forgotten how to breathe. The twisting turning maelstrom of emotions was too much for him to handle, and as the last of his consciousness melted into a corner of his brain, he saw a worried Nora reaching out to catch him before he fell into nothingness.

=][=

'Gah!' Jaune woke with a start; shooting upwards from his bed. He tried to come to his senses and remember where he was. Jaune quickly took in the concerned faces of his team looking at him from different parts of the room. Pyrrha and Nora were on the opposite side of the room, sitting on their respective beds and frozen in mid-conversation to glance at him. Ren was nearby, looking up from his book from his own study desk with a puzzled expression. The dormitory was still basked in a warm, mid-afternoon light.

'Oh! Uh, sorry guys! I guess I was having a dream, hehe…!'

'It's nice you're getting some more rest, Jaune.' Pyrrha said warmly, but her expression grew stern shortly afterward. 'But you really should use more of your time to concentrate on your studies. There's still that group essay that's due tomorrow, and you haven't completed your piece of it yet.'

And just like that Jaune was back into harsh reality. He sighed deeply and dragged himself out of bed. Jaune was still wearing his casual clothes, so he guessed he must've taken a nap at some point.

His pile of unfinished work loomed before him, still in the same place he had left it for the past two days. There was no time to waste. He had to get those things done or else he'd be letting his whole team down.

With another deep sigh of dejection, Jaune flipped open the first of his work books to complete whatever assignments he had left. However, right away Jaune noticed something was wrong. That essay on Grimm Hegemony was seven pages long, whereas he was sure he had left it at three whole paragraphs last time he worked on it.

Jaune felt a lump in his throat as he checked the next of his work books. An assignment on improvised applications of dust appliances in battle: 100% complete.

Every single part of the formerly mystifying stack of mental labor was already finished.

A crawling thought in his mind came to revelation when a faint whiff of a particular flower danced around his senses.

Wordlessly, he turned to Nora again. From the angle he could see her from; her face was just peeking out over Pyrrha's shoulder, who had her back to turned to him.

Nora looked to him for a split-second and flashed _that _smile towards him. The one Jaune thought had been part of a dream.

Jaune was unsure what to do save stand there awkwardly staring at her like that, but soon enough he felt that very same smile grace his own features.


End file.
